From the Chairman
Total Page:16
File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb
The Homes, hats, topees and umbrellas - c.1930 UK COMMITTEE DR GRAHAM’S HOMES Charity Registered in Scotland SC 016341 ANNUAL REPORT AND SUMMARY ACCOUNTS For the year ended 31 January 2018 MID-YEAR NEWSLETTER MAY 2018 UK Committee Dr. Graham’s Homes, Kalimpong, India DR GRAHAM’S HOMES, KALIMPONG, INDIA 1900 - 2018 OVER A CENTURY OF CARING FOR CHILDREN Founder - The Very Reverend John Anderson Graham DD, LL.B, CIE Moderator of the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland, 1931 The Very Reverend Dr. John A Graham and Mrs. Katherine Graham 2 Charity recognised in Scotland SC 016341 UK Committee Dr. Graham’s Homes, Kalimpong, India UK Committee Dr. Graham’s Homes, Kalimpong, India Charity Registered in Scotland SC 016341 Registered Address: 44 Aytoun Road, Pollokshields, Glasgow G41 5HN www.drgrahamshomes.co.uk Associated Organisation: Dr. Graham’s Homes (Greetings Cards) Ltd Annual Reports and Summary Accounts For the Year Ended 31st January 2018 CONTENTS PAGE [Photo] Very Reverend Dr. John Graham & Mrs. Katherine Graham 2 Notice of AGM 3 The Trustees of the Charity 4 Chairman’s Report, Mr. James MacHardy 5 Report of the Sponsorship Secretary, Mr. James Simpson 8 Report of the Treasurer, Mr. Jim Gibson 11 Summary of the Annual Accounts 2018 18 and 19 Committee Secretary’s Report 20 Announcements 20 Obituary 21 UK News and Features 23 Life on Campus – a photo montage 27 and 28 Notice of Annual General Meeting for 2018 The UK Committee’s AGM is planned for Wednesday, 16th May 2018 at 11.00am. This will be followed at 12.45pm by the Edinburgh Curry Lunch which is being organised as a fund-raising event to complement the Curry Lunch that is held in London each October. Please put the date in your diary. The venue for both events will be the Royal Scots Club, 29-31 Abercromby Place, Edinburgh EH3 6QE. The AGM is open to all friends and supporters of Dr. Graham’s Homes, without charge, as in the past. Tickets for the Curry Lunch can be bought by friends and supporter, as well as their guests, priced at £15 each and are available from the Committee Secretary. We look forward to welcoming you. Anne Hoggan, Committee Secretary 3 Charity recognised in Scotland SC 016341 UK Committee Dr. Graham’s Homes, Kalimpong, India Honorary Presidents The Moderator of the General Assembly, The Primus, The Church of Scotland The Scottish Episcopal Church The Board of Trustees 2017 – 2018 Chair Mr. James MacHardy “Roseisle”, Sawbridgeworth Road, Hatfield Heath, Essex CM22 7DR Tel. 01279 730711 Email: [email protected] Vice-Chair Miss Aileen Fraser 17 Wemyss Crescent, Troon, Ayrshire, KA10 6NL Tel. 01292 313501 Email: [email protected] Committee Anne Hoggan Secretary 7 Robertson Road, Cupar, Fife, KY15 5YR Tel. 01334 656992 Email: [email protected] Sponsorship Mr. James T F Simpson Secretary 37 Campbell Drive, Bearsden, Glasgow, G61 4NF Tel. 0845 094 8839 Email: [email protected] Treasurer Mr. James Gibson 44 Aytoun Road, Pollokshields, Glasgow G41 5HN Tel. 0141 423 8290 Email: [email protected] Other members of the Board of Trustees Mrs. F. Cranston Mrs. T. Dennis Ms A. Donnan Mr. F. Dunn Mrs. C. Eckersley Ms S. Hume Mr. A. McCabe Ms G. Potter Mrs. M. Purtill Mrs. P. Simpson Mrs. N. Toller Rev. J. Webster Mr. D. Willis External Appointments Auditors Cook & Co. Ltd. Solicitors BALFOUR & MANSON Chartered Accountants 54-66 Frederick Street, and Tax Advisors Edinburgh EH2 1LS Suite 525 Baltic Chambers Bankers BANK OF SCOTLAND 50 Wellington Street 75 George Street Glasgow G2 6HJ Edinburgh EH2 3EW 4 Charity recognised in Scotland SC 016341 UK Committee Dr. Graham’s Homes, Kalimpong, India CHAIRMAN’S REPORT 2018 James MacHardy After the visit of the Chair of the Board of Management and her Deputy we did think that we were into a stable period at the Homes but as reported in the December Newsletter a serious period of unrest developed in the Hills from early June through to nearly the end of September. This unrest caused the closure of Banks, Government Offices, Hotels, Schools and many shops. It also caused serious problems in Sikkim as the main road north was frequently closed by the action of protesters. The West Bengal Government tried several negotiating tactics and offered to make concessions many to no avail. There was widespread looting and violence but fortunately the Homes kept a low profile and there were very limited problems there. The main difficulty was supplies but that was covered by trips to Siliguri under the cover of darkness. Our thanks to the Headmaster and the Bursar who made several trips to register children ready for the eventual return. The Homes set up an office in Siliguri to co-ordinate this activity using teaching and secretarial staff as support. Finally at the end of September things returned to normal and everyday life resumed, our children, who had been evacuated to Kolkata or their homes returned but the three month cessation in education can only have made a lasting impression. I know that Jim Simpson, the Sponsorship secretary, will elaborate on this in his report. The planned bike ride through Bhutan, Assam and up to Kalimpong via Siliguri in September did take place but sadly was curtailed in Siliguri due to the above mentioned unrest. The cyclists are all to be congratulated on a splendid effort both physical and financial, funds raised going to the benefit of sponsored children. Three Trustees were among the cyclists who arrived triumphantly into Siliguri on the 24th September, the Homes Birthday – John 5 Charity recognised in Scotland SC 016341 UK Committee Dr. Graham’s Homes, Kalimpong, India Webster, Jim Simpson and Frank Dunn. It is worth noting that the eight bike rides have raised a total of £266,199 for the benefit of our children - thanks to all concerned and particularly to Rev. John Webster whose inspiration and encouragement made it all happen. I visited the Homes in September last year and was pleased to see that refurbishment of the Cottages was well underway. To date three boys and three girls cottages have been refurbished: Bene, Birissa, Old Thorburn, Assam, Calcutta and Wiston. This has been carried out by a team lead by Mr. Sushil Marda working with the Superintendent Mr. Ganga Raj Tamang and the Bursar, Col Ashok Gogoi. Funds have come from the Alumni association GO and from this Committee and I am grateful to Mr. Kenny Hammond of GO and all those involved in this very necessary and worthwhile project. Again the question of the Katherine Graham Chapel comes up; late last year the engineers employed to carry out the work have undertaken soil boring tests to better understand the sub structure. Word from the Homes is that work is to be started soon. The repairs are out of the hands of both the Homes’ Board of Management in Kolkata and the UK Committee as the Indian Government consider it an Indian Heritage site and have allocated money for repair. There are regular visits by experts and we can only hope that one day something constructive will be done to repair the iconic and historic building. We are losing two stalwart Trustees this year, Mrs. Caroline Eckersley and Mrs. Tina Dennis, both ladies have given good support over the years and also raised large sums of money for the Homes and for the provision of accommodation in Kolkata for children attending technical colleges and further education establishments. A notable event on the calendar has been Caroline's annual Curry Lunch at the Cotswold Wildlife Park and its associated sale of Indian goods and foodstuffs. Caroline and Tina bravely took part in the 2010 Bike Bengal sponsored bike ride and will always be remembered for their photographic efforts at the Farakka Barrage!! Sincere thanks to you both for what you have done for Dr. Graham's Homes. 6 Charity recognised in Scotland SC 016341 UK Committee Dr. Graham’s Homes, Kalimpong, India Last August we appointed Mrs. Gloria Potter as the Sponsorship Secretary designate to replace Mr. Jim Simpson at this AGM. Mrs. Potter brings a range of skills to our Committee with a background in fostering and child safeguarding. Mr. Simpson and Mrs. Potter have undertaken several meetings and the management of change process now completed. Mr. Simpson has been Sponsorship Secretary for some eight years and has done an excellent job in promoting sponsorship and also opening up extended sponsorship. An area where our involvement was minimal before but now helps many sponsored children make the big step from a closeted secure environment in Kalimpong to the outside world. Our thanks to Jim Simpson, who is remaining as a Trustee, and our welcome to Gloria Potter, we wish her every success as our new Sponsorship Secretary. Mrs. Potter comes from a background of Community Education and Child Fostering, she is also well qualified in child safeguarding. Many of you will be aware that there is new legislation regarding Data Protection and this is explained on p20 and in the enclosed insert. To keep in touch with you we need your written agreement and we do not want to lose the contact so please complete and return the form included in this Annual Report to Jim Gibson at the address shown. At our Trustee meetings we have been discussing our future role and how we can best continue to support the legacy of Dr. John Anderson Graham. We frequently consider where we are: Through the UK Committee's sponsorship programme we promote the legacy of John Anderson Graham in conjunction with the Graham family.